The emergence of nitroimidazole resistant isolates has been an aggravating factor in the treatment of trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease in the world. This particularity highlights the importance of new technologies that are safe, effective, and have minor side effects or resistance. Hence, we evaluated the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy on the inactivation of Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro. We used methylene blue as a photosensitizing substance, and a light-emitting diode (LED) for irradiation of metronidazole sensitive and resistant strains...

Novel LiLa1-x-y(MoO4)2:xSm3+,yEu3+ (in short: LL1-x-yM:xSm3+,yEu3+) double molybdate red phosphors were synthesized by a solid-state reaction at as low temperature as 610 °C. The optimal doping concentration of Sm3+ in LiLa1-x(MoO4)2:xSm3+ (LL1-xM:xSm3+) phosphor is x = 0.05 and higher concentrations lead to emission quenching by the electric dipole-electric dipole mechanism. In the samples co-doped with Eu3+ ions, the absorption spectrum in the near ultraviolet and blue regions became broader and stronger than these of the Sm3+ single-doped samples...

Synthetic cathinones are a large class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) that are increasingly prevalent in drug seizures made by law enforcement and other border protection agencies globally. Color testing is a presumptive identification technique indicating the presence or absence of a particular drug class using rapid and uncomplicated chemical methods. Owing to their relatively recent emergence, a color test for the specific identification of synthetic cathinones is not currently available. In this study, we introduce a protocol for the presumptive identification of synthetic cathinones, employing three aqueous reagent solutions: copper(II) nitrate, 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (neocuproine) and sodium acetate...

DNA staining methods are very important for biomedical research. We designed a simple method that allows DNA visualization to the naked eye by the formation of a colored precipitate. It works by soaking the acrylamide or agarose DNA gel in a solution of 1x (equivalent to 2.0 µM) SYBR Green I (SG I) and 0.20 mM nitro blue tetrazolium that produces a purple precipitate of formazan when exposed to sunlight or specifically blue light. Also, DNA recovery tests were performed using an ampicillin resistant plasmid in an agarose gel stained with our method...

One dimensional (1D) NiFe2O4 nanofibers have been successfully fabricated using single-nozzle electrospinning technique and subsequent calcination process through adjusting heat-treatment parameters. The calcination procedure plays a key role for the formation of nanofibers with different morphologies. The lithium storage properties of NiFe2O4 nanofibers were evaluated by galvanostatic cycling studies in half-cell configuration. Furthermore, their photocatalytic property under vis-light irradiation with H2O2 addition is investigated at room temperature...

CdS quantum dots (QDs) have attracted extensive attention owing to their great potential in optoelectronic nanodevices and biosensors. But their poor water solubility and high cytotoxicity restrict their practical application in live cell imaging. In addition, CdS QDs usually emit blue or green fluorescence, which also have some limitations for cell imaging due to the "water window" effect. In this study, we report a novel strategy to directly synthesize water-soluble and low-cytotoxic CdS QDs with near infrared (NIR) fluorescence through confinement into BSA templates with the mediation of L-cysteine (Cys)...

Graphene-CdS nanocomposites with different CdS contents were synthesized via a solvothermal route. Compared with pure CdS, graphene-CdS composites exhibited higher efficiency in photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. TEM observations demonstrated that a homogeneous distribution of CdS nanoparticles on the graphene nanosheets was formed, while the CdS nanoparticles on graphene-CdS composite (1 g/7.5 mmol) distributed best among graphene-CdS composites. The results show that the graphene-CdS composite (1 g/7...

The dose-dependent toxicity and low specificity against cancerous cells have restricted the clinical use of daunomycin (DNM). Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been wildly used as an inorganic photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent and drug carrier. To facilitate the targeted drug delivery and combined therapy, in the present study, TiO2-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@TiO2 NPs) were employed to load DNM and the drug-loaded Fe3O4@TiO2-DNM Nps exhibited smart pH-controlled releasing and satisfactory cytotoxicity as well as photocytotocity...

Objective: The goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of intraoperative photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) of malignant glioma using the fluorescence from talaporfin sodium (TS), which is used simultaneously for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Methods: Patients with suspected primary malignant glioma who were eligible for surgical removal of the tumor and PDT with TS were enrolled in this prospective study. Tissue samples were obtained from the contrast-enhanced (CE) region and from the surrounding non-contrast-enhanced (NCE) marginal tissue at the boundary between the tumor and normal tissue...

Piperlongumine is an alkaloid compound extracted from Piper longum L. It is a chemical substance with various pharmacological effects and medicinal value, including anti-tumor, lipid metabolism regulatory, antiplatelet aggregation and analgesic properties. The present study aimed to understand whether piperlongumine induces the apoptosis and autophagy of leukemic cells, and to identify the mechanism involved. Cell viability and autophagy were detected using MTT, phenazine methyl sulfate and trypan blue exclusion assays...

Synthesis of three new europium(III) complexes with 1,3-[bis(4-methoxyphenyl)]propane-1,3-dionato (HBMPD) ligand and ancillary ligands such as 2,2'-biquinoline (biq) or neocuproine (neo) has been reported in this report. The synthesized complexes were characterized by IR (infrared), 1H and 13C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy, CHN (carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen) elemental analysis, XRD (X-ray diffraction), TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The emission spectra of europium(III) complexes displayed both the low intensity 5D1-3→7F0-3 transitions in 410-560nm blue-green region and high intensity characteristic 5D0→7F0-3 transitions in 575-640nm orange-red region correspond to the emission of ancillary ligands and europium ion respectively, which can lead to white luminescence due to integration of blue, green and red color emissions...

EL222 is a blue light sensor protein, which consists of a light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain as a light sensor and a LuxR-type helix-turn-helix (HTH) DNA-binding domain. The reaction dynamics of the protein-DNA binding were observed for the first time using the time-resolved transient grating method. The reaction scheme was determined, showing that photoexcited EL222 first binds DNA and the ground state EL222 monomer is subsequently associated with the complex. Rate constants on the millisecond scale were determined for these processes...

As cell function and phenotype can be directed by the mechanical characteristics of the surrounding matrix, hydrogels have become important platforms for cell culture systems, with properties that can be tuned by external stimuli such as divalent cations, enzymatic treatment and pH. However, many of these stimuli can directly affect cell behaviour, making it difficult to distinguish purely mechanical signalling events. This study reports on the development of a hydrogel that incorporates photoswitchable crosslinkers, which can reversibly alter their stiffness upon irradiation with the appropriate wavelength of light...

In this study, we developed a novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor for the highly sensitive detection of erythromycin by functionalising graphene oxide (GO) with nickel tetra-amined phthalocyanine (NiTAPc) through covalent bonding, which resulted in the formation of NiTAPc-Gr. The fabricated sensor showed a higher PEC efficiency under blue light, exhibiting a peak wavelength of 456 nm, as compared to that of the monomer. Further, the NiTAPc-Gr/indium tin oxide (ITO) sensor exhibited a photocurrent that was 50-fold higher than that for a GO/ITO sensor under the same conditions...

The reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins (RSFPs) commonly used for RESOLFT nanoscopy have been developed from fluorescent proteins of the GFP superfamily. These proteins are bright, but exhibit several drawbacks such as relatively large size, oxygen-dependence, sensitivity to low pH, and limited switching speed. Therefore, RSFPs from other origins with improved properties need to be explored. Here, we report the development of two RSFPs based on the LOV domain of the photoreceptor protein YtvA from Bacillus subtilis...

BACKGROUND: To improve our understanding of the neighborhood environment - physical activity (PA) relationship, it is of importance to assess associations between neighborhood environmental characteristics and neighborhood-based PA. METHODS: Participants' (N = 308; 45-65 years) light PA (LPA) and moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) within a 400, 800, and 1600 m buffer around adults' homes was measured using accelerometers and GPS-devices. Land use data in ArcGIS provided neighborhood characteristics for the same buffers...

BACKGROUND/AIM: Laser-based photodynamic endoscopic diagnosis (LPDED) is a type of endoscopic diagnosis that uses the fluorescence caused by the photochemical reaction that occurs when a fluorescent substance is irradiated by a light of a specific wavelength. Although 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) can detect early gastric cancer (EGC) during LPDED, there is an unresolved issue of the differences in fluorescence intensity among histopathological types of gastric cancer. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess whether protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPOX), involved in the activation of protoporphyrin IX, can affect the fluorescence intensity in EGC...

Cladocera zooplankton as carriers of bacteria result in biological risk due to their occurrence in drinking water treatment systems. In this paper, bench-scale experiments were performed to investigate the inhibition effect on Daphnia magna (D. magna) by controlling its phototactic behavior. The results showed that UVA had a negative effect on the phototaxis of D. magna, indicating an active movement away from light source, while blue light was positive in inducing phototactic behavior. The water quality could influence the phototactic behavior of D...